The Ottawa-Carleton Education Foundation provides funds for students in need across the city. As a principal, there have been numerous occasions where I've been able to connect a family to assistance because of the Education Foundation. It is an invaluable resource that allows us to assist those in the most dire need. Tomorrow is Toonie Tuesday, the Foundation's annual fundraiser. I'm hoping to collect a Toonie from each student in our school who is able to make a donation. I will have envelopes to collect from our students during our assembly tomorrow morning.

We are having a mid-year tune up assembly tomorrow to help remind students about expectations in the school, the classroom, and the yard. Please take a moment tomorrow evening to ask your child about what they learned during the assembly. I'm hoping for an answer that goes beyond "respect and stuff"! We'll be taking the opportunity to remind students about the importance of good behaviour, being kind, respectful and polite, healthy problem-solving, and talking about good decision-making skills. We'll have a separate assembly for our youngest students so that we can accommodate as many as possible in our gym.

We're also going to cover yard boundaries. Since our yard opened in late Fall our staff have been supervising our students on the yard and learning about where they like to play and where they should not go. We'll be sharing a map of the yard with students outlining restrictions on where students can and cannot go on the yard. For example, our kinder yard is reserved exclusively for students in kindergarten. The large soccer field is exclusively for students in junior/intermediate. The play structure closest to the parking lot is for primary students only. Primary refers to students in grades 1-3, junior in grades 4-6, and intermediates in grades 7-8.

Finally, we'll cover what happens when poor choices are made. In most cases, a teacher will help resolve the issue. What does it mean to be sent to the office? What happens if you are, and how are parents involved? Why do we as staff intervene (to help students learn from mistakes, help clear up misunderstandings, and keep everyone safe!). We'll talk about restorative practices - a method of conflict resolution that helps all parties understand the harm that was caused, and seek to restore relationships.

Our grade 7 and 8s will be presenting a science fair this Wednesday and Thursday. The community will be welcomed to see our students' work on Thursday evening. Please do consider dropping in! Also on Thursday evening there is the Understanding Mental Health and Addition in Youth talk at Sir Robert Borden High School, starting at 7 pm. See our school calendar for more details.

Our yard is currently quite icy. Our Chief Custodian Mr. Joe was out today spreading grit and salt throughout the day to help speed the melting of the ice and take advantage of the glorious sunshine. Unfortunately it's just cold enough for ice to melt and flow over more ice and re-freeze over the grit, making a very smooth slippery surface. We're asking all of our students to be very cautious when walking off the pavement in our yard and Mr. Joe will keep at it.

Thank you for reading through. I initially wanted to tell you about Toonie Tuesday and the assembly, but found much more to share! It's a great time to be a part of the Broadview Community!